'Entry Denied!': The Government's Clash with Public Houses Promises a New Year Problem.

Labour MPs visiting their local areas this weekend might feel a sense of relief as a hectic political term concludes. Yet, for those planning to stop by their local pub for a casual pint, festive cheer could be scarce. Actually, some may find they are barred from entry.

In recent weeks, venues across the country have been posting signs that declare "Labour MPs Not Welcome" in objection to revisions in business rates unveiled by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her autumn financial statement.

This movement means one fewer haven for many Labour MPs seeking refuge from the difficult situation of their public disapproval. MPs now describe commonplace hostility in community settings after a rocky first 18 months that has seen the approval numbers fall from around 34% to roughly under a fifth.

"It's challenging being the MP of the area you have forever lived in," commented one. "The local pub is where we would go with the kids and just be a regular family. But the recent visits we've just ended up being shouted at by other patrons. Now I'm not even sure we'll be able to enter."

This sense of dismay is clear in a online clip by Tom Hayes, the Labour MP for Bournemouth East, lamenting being banned from one of his local pubs, the Larderhouse.

"It's meant to be a time of joy," he said. "However the Larderhouse and other establishments with a 'No Labour MPs' notice in the window, they are damaging the inclusive culture that publicans have helped to nourish." He continued, "Politics must be kept politics off the high street altogether, but above all at Christmas."

'Pubs Have a Special Place in the National Identity

After a tough times marked by rising expenses, the COVID-19 crisis, and changing habits, landlords were hopeful the budget might bring some relief—particularly through a much-anticipated reform of the business rates system.

But the chancellor poured cold water on those hopes, keeping the system largely unchanged and opting rather to reduce headline rates and pledge £4.3bn over three years in funding for the shops, pubs, and restaurants sectors.

While seemingly a positive step, the impact of that support package has been overshadowed by the effect of a three-yearly property reassessment, which has caused the taxable value of hospitality venues to spike from their pandemic-era lows.

Starting from next April, rates are set to rise by 115% for the typical hotel and 76% for a pub, versus just four percent for large supermarkets and seven percent for distribution warehouses. A major hospitality group, which operates pubs, restaurants and the Premier Inn hotel chain, says it will face an additional tax bill of between £40m and £50m as a outcome.

Joe Butler, the publican at the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, explained: "Virtually instantly, the value of our business has doubled. That's going to be a massive rise for us."

This pressure on publicans is directly reflected in the price of a customer's pint.

"The cost of a drink is now prohibitively expensive. When we first took this pub on 10 years ago, we charged £3.40 a pint. We're now nearly £7 a pint," Butler stated.

Simultaneously, pandemic-related tax breaks are ending, while sector businesses are still coping with rises in national insurance and the living wage from last year's budget.

"To create the least helpful financial plan for pubs and consumers, you couldn't have done much worse than what was announced," remarked Ash Corbett-Collins, the chairperson of Camra, the consumer organisation.

Several within the governing party feel this is a fight they should not have picked, not least because of the important role the neighborhood inn holds in national life.

Richard Quigley, the Labour MP for the Isle of Wight West, who also runs a chip shop on the island, argued: "We pledged for two years to pubs and hospitality businesses that we are going to help you out but then they get slapped with this revaluation. We can't have taxes going down for big corporations but increasing for independent businesses."

Commentators point out that Keir Starmer himself has historically been a regular at his local, the Pineapple in north London, and frequently speaks of their value to neighborhoods. "There's nothing any of us like better than going to the local for a pint, myself included," the prime minister said in February.

But pollsters compare confronting pub owners to taking on NHS workers in terms of popular sentiment.

Joe Twyman, director of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, said: "From soap operas to real life, pubs have a cherished status in the British psyche.

"In the public's view the local pub is perceived to be an integral component of the locality, even if a significant number of those same people will rarely actually drink there.

"The hazard with alienating pubs is that your opponents will easily be able to accuse you of attacking the very heart of this nation and its history, especially in rural areas. And they will be able to produce many emotive examples to drive the message home."

'A Matter of Principle'

One such instance is Andy Lennox, the publican at the Old Thatch pub in Wimborne, Dorset, and the coordinator of the "No Labour MPs" campaign. Lennox reports he has handed out stickers to nearly 1,000 premises and is dispatching 100 more every day.

His protest has received support from several high-profile figures, such as television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who owns a pub called the Farmer's Dog, and singer Rick Astley, who has a stake in a brewpub in north London—however the latter has clarified he will not refuse service to Labour MPs.

"We have long sought support for a years," said Lennox, who is calling for a temporary VAT reduction. "Ministers is dressing this up as a support measure but that's not what people are experiencing, and that is the thing that has aggrieved so many people."

A number within the industry feel a campaign singling out individual politicians is may backfire. "I doubt it's a good idea to ban the precise representatives we should be trying to engage with and speak to," commented Corbett-Collins.

When asked this week, the Treasury highlighted the support being offered to hospitality. "We're protecting the hospitality industry with the budget's £4.3bn investment. This comes on top of our work to simplify licensing, keeping our cut to alcohol duty on beer from the tap, and capping corporation tax," a spokesperson said.

The business owners, on the other hand, are in little mood to yield, even if losing MPs